Disconnectable cartridge belt link



June 22, 1965 P. H. BENOlT DISCONNECTABLE CARTRIDGE BELT LINK Filed May8, 1964 INVENTOR I Puul H-131 em] 11 BY M- S Mi Z2 u United StatesPatent DISCQNNECTABLE CARTRIDGE BELT LENK Paul H. Benoit, ChicopeeFalls, Mesa, assignor to the United States of America as represented bythe Secretary of the Army I Filed May 8, 1964, Ser. No. 366,199 4Claims. (CI. 89-35) (Granted under Title 35, US. Code (1952), see. 266)The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or forthe Government for governmental purposes without the payment to me ofany royalty thereon.

This invention relates to cartridge belt links and pertains moreparticularly to those links in which the retained cartridges aretransferred therefrom into a firearm chamber for discharge and the firedcases are reinserted into the previously emptied links after discharge.

It is the object of this invention to provide such a link which isdisconnectable from the cartridge belt during the stripping operation sothat the link and the fired case therein are separated from theremainder of the cartridge belt for ejection together from the firearm.

The specific nature of the invention as well as other objects andadvantages thereof will clearly appear from a description of a preferredembodiment as shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a top view of a firearm feedway showing a linked cartridgebelt therein with the link positioned at the stripping stationdisconnected from the belt; and

:FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the cartridge link.

Shown in the figures is a cartridge belt 12 comprising a plurality oflinks 14 joined together by connectors 16, which are parts thereof, anda cooperating gun feedway comprising a track 18 which leads to astripping station 20 located between a front stop 22 and a rear stop 24.

Each of the links 14 includes a retaining sleeve 26 designed forresiliently holding a case 28 of a cartridge 30. Sleeve 26 isinterrupted along the bottom by a longitudinal clearance 32 whichprovides means for receiving suitable gun structure to strip cartridge30 from the sleeve and reinstall fired case 28 thereinto. Diametricallyopposite clearance 32 at the top of sleeve 26 is a pair oflongitudinally disposed, oppositely extending, straps 34 which slidinglyengage track 18 for guiding link 14 to stripping station 20' and whichcooperate with the track for holding the link against longitudinaldisplacement relative thereto. When link 14 is in stripping station 20,front stop 22 is contactable by the front edge of sleeve 26 to hold thelink against any further forward displacement while cartridge 3G isforwardly stripped therefrom and rear stop 24 is contactable by the rearedge of the sleeve to hold the link against rearward displacement whilefired cartridge 28 is inserted thereinto. Front stop 22 and rear stop 24are spaced sufficiently to permit limited displacement of link 14 instripping station 2% relative to the next successive link retained bytrack 18 for a purpose to be fully explained hereinafter.

Each of the connectors 16 is of a square, closed, loop configurationwhich includes one side 36 which is rotatingly received by a pair ofvertically disposed loops 38 formed in one side of sleeve as so thatthe. connector is hingedly mounted on sleeve 26. A tongue 40 extendsintegrally from side 36 between loops 38 at right angles to the top andbottom sides of connector 16 and is designed so as to be contactablewith the outside of sleeve 26 forwardly of loops 38. With tongue 0 incontact with the outside surface of sleeve 26, connector 1a ispositioned at right angles to the outside surface at an extendedposition. Thus, connector 16 is held against displacement forwardly ofthe extended position but has free displacement between the extendedposition and a rearward position lying along the side of sleeve 26.

'3,l%,l79 Patented June 22, 1965 Fixed to sleeve 26 diametricallyopposite connector 16 is a spring clip 42 which includes an arcuatelybent section 4-4 which curves outwardly and rearwardly to form a channelfor receiving the outer side of connector 16 and a linear portion 46that extends rearwardly and inwardly form the arcuate portion. The freeend'of clip 42 is spaced from the outside of sleeve 26 a distance lessthan the thickness of connector 16 so that the connector is resilientlyheld by the clip. Clip 42 is fabricated so as to be resilientlydisplaceable for releasing the inclosed connector 16 only by applicationof considerable force.

Thus, cartridge belt 12 is formed by joining pairs of links 14 togetherwith connector 16 on one link retained by clip 42 on the other. Inoperation, when one link 14- is positioned in stripping station 20 andthe connected link is retained by track 18, the stripping station linkis dsplaced forwardly relative to the connected link on track 18 duringthe cartridge stripping operation. During this relative movement,connector 16 is held rigidly outward in its extended position by contactof tongue 40 with sleeve 26 whereby, clip 42 is moved relative to theconnector with contact of linear portion 46 with the connector servingto cam the free end of the clip resiliently outward for disconnection ofthe clip from the connector. After disconnection, linear portion 46snaps back to its normal position. Further forward displacement of link14, after disconnection, is prevented by the contact of the front edgethereof with front stop 22. During the installation of fired case 28back into the now disconnected link 14, such link is moved rearwardlywith connector 16 being easily swung rearwardly by contact of linearportion 46 therewith to prevent any change of re-engagement of clip 42on the disconnected link with the connector whereby, link 14 with firedcase 28 therein is free for ejection.

Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been described indetail herein, it is evident that many variations may be devised withinthe spirit and scope thereof and the following claims are intended toinclude such variations.

I claim:

1. A cartridge link including a sleeve for resiliently retaining a shellof a cartridge, a connector hingedly mounted on one side of said sleevefor pivotal displacement between a rear position lying along the side ofsaid sleeve and an extended position respective thereto, means on saidconnector for preventing pivotal displacement of said connectorforwardly of the extended position, and a rearwardly extending springclip fixed to said sleeve opposite to said connector for releasablyengaging said connector of said another link to form a cartridge belt.

2. The link as defined in claim 1 wherein said clip includes anarcuately bent section forming a channel for receiving said connector ofsaid another link, and a linear section extending rearwardly andinwardly from said bent section so that the free end thereof is spacedfrom the side of said sleeve a distance less than the thickness of saidconnector.

3. The link as defined in claim 1 wherein said connector is of squareclosed loop configuration and includes one side hingedly mounted on saidsleeve, and wherein said means includes a tongue extending from said oneside at right angles to sides of said connector adjoining said one side,said tongue being contactable with said sleeve for preventingdisplacement of said connector forwardly of said extended position whilepermitting free displacement between the extended position and therear-ward position.

4. The combination including a cartridge belt compris ing a plurality ofconnected links for respectively carrying a cartridge with a case andgun structure including a stripping station, a front stop and a rearstop at said stripping station and tracks leading to said strippingstation, each of said links being provided with means for slidinglymounting said link on said track and for holding said link againstlongitudinal displacement, a sleeve for releasably holding the cartridgecase, a connector mounted on one side of said sleeve for hinged 90displacement between a rearward position along the side of said case andan extended position respective thereto, means on said connector forpreventing hinged displacement of said connector forwardly of theextended position, a rearwardly extending spring clip fixed to saidsleeve opposite to No references cited.

BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner.

1. A CARTRIDGE LINK INCLUDING A SLEEVE FOR RESILIENTLY RETAINING A SHELL OF A CARTRIDGE, A CONNECTOR HINGEDLY MOUNTED ON ONE SIDE OF SAID SLEEVE FOR PIVOTAL 90* DISPLACEMENT BETWEEN A REAR POSITION LYING ALONG THE SIDE OF SAID SLEEVE AND AN EXTENDED POSITION RESPECTIVE THERETO, MEANS ON SAID CONNECTOR FOR PREVENTING PIVOTAL DISPLACEMENT OF SAID CONNECTOR FORWARDLY OF THE EXTENDED POSITION, AND A REARWARDLY EXTENDING SPRING CLIP FIXED TO SAID SLEEVE OPPOSITE TO SAID CONNECTOR FOR RELEASABLY ENGAGING SAID CONNECTOR OF SAID ANOTHER LINK TO FORM A CARTRIDGE BELT. 